Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley Central)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many registered employers of PAYE taxpayers were subject to enforcement action due to non-payment of (a) income tax and (b) national insurance in each year since 2010.
Answered by Richard Fuller
HMRC only ever considers enforcement action as a last resort. Many customers that they take enforcement action against will have multiple debts and they apply their powers consistently across all debts and customers, regardless of how the tax arose.
HMRC do not treat PAYE debts any differently and so do not collect or hold data on the number of cases in which enforcement action was taken against employers or employees, where an employer refuses to pay their liabilities.
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley Central)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many PAYE taxpayers were subject to enforcement action due to non-payment of (a) income tax and (b) national insurance by their employers in each year since 2010.
Answered by Richard Fuller
HMRC only ever considers enforcement action as a last resort. Many customers that they take enforcement action against will have multiple debts and they apply their powers consistently across all debts and customers, regardless of how the tax arose.
HMRC do not treat PAYE debts any differently and so do not collect or hold data on the number of cases in which enforcement action was taken against employers or employees, where an employer refuses to pay their liabilities.
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley Central)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the oral contribution of the Financial Secretary to the Treasury of 25 May 2022, Official Report, column 168WH, what recent discussions he has had with his officials on waiving car parking charges for NHS workers; and when his Department plans to respond to the hon. Member for Barnsley Central in writing.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
Throughout the pandemic, our NHS workers have gone above and beyond to protect public health and this Government has supported NHS workers in any way it can.
As part of the Government’s manifesto commitment to introduce free hospital car parking for in-need groups, NHS staff working overnight are able to access free hospital car parking and 97% of Trusts that charge for parking have implemented this commitment.
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley Central)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of increasing the standard mileage and fuel rates for NHS workers in line with the increased cost of petrol.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government sets the Approved Mileage Allowance Payments (AMAPs) rates to minimise administrative burdens. AMAPs aim to reflect running costs including fuel, servicing and depreciation. Depreciation is estimated to constitute the most significant proportion of the AMAPs.
Employers, including the NHS, are not required to use the AMAPs. Instead, they can agree to reimburse the actual cost incurred, where individuals can provide evidence of the expenditure, without an Income Tax or National Insurance charge arising.
Alternatively, they can choose to pay a different mileage rate that is higher or lower than AMAPs. However, if the payment exceeds the amount due under AMAPs, and this results in a profit for the individual, they will be liable to pay Income Tax and National Insurance contributions on the difference.
The Government keeps this policy under review.
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley Central)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has plans to increase financial support for patients using large volumes of electricity for medical equipment to treat health conditions at home.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Living with a long-term illness or disability can impact significantly on the cost of living. This is why the Government invests heavily in supporting disabled people who are both in and out of work through the welfare system.
The Government is helping people with the rising cost of energy bills by providing financial support worth £550 to most households. Households with a domestic electricity meter will receive a universal rebate of £400 through the Energy Bills Support Scheme. In addition to this, English households living in Council Tax Bands A-D are receiving a £150 rebate. None of this has to be repaid.
The Government is providing further support for vulnerable households, through the Warm Home Discount of £150 for up to 3m people, and the continuation of Winter Fuel Payments and Cold Weather Payments.
The Government is also offering an automatic one-off £150 disability cost of living payment to individuals in receipt of non-means tested disability benefits, paid by September.
The Government continues to support vulnerable groups through NHS services. The additional funding announced at the Spending Review, made possible by the new Health and Social Care Levy, means that the NHS resource budget will increase to over £160 billion in 2024-25. These investments will allow the NHS to continue providing the services people need.
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley Central)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what financial support his Department is providing to people who paid money to the Safe Hands Funeral Plan.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
In January 2021, the government legislated to bring all pre-paid funeral plan providers and intermediaries within the regulatory remit of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). This means that by 29 July 2022 all funeral plan providers must be authorised by the FCA.
Safe Hands Plans has recently gone into administration. The government understands that this development will be concerning for customers of Safe Hands and continues to monitor the implementation of regulation in this sector closely.
I was very pleased to see Dignity’s recent commitment to provide ongoing support to Safe Hands’ customers for the next six months. This will ensure that any planholders who die during this time will receive a funeral without any additional charge.
It is unfortunate but unavoidable that bringing a previously unregulated sector into regulation – whatever form that may take – creates a possibility that some providers are not able to meet the threshold for authorisation. However, a well-regulated market should promote effective competition and drive better outcomes for consumers in the long-term.
Where a provider is unable to obtain FCA authorisation because of underlying issues, it is important to understand that this is not an issue created by bringing the sector into regulation. Rather, bringing the sector into regulation exposes these unsustainable business models and prevents these problems from getting worse.
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley Central)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has had recent discussions with farmers on the impact of the current entitlement for farmers’ use of red diesel during ploughing competitions.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Chancellor confirmed at Spring Budget 2021 that the Government will remove the entitlement to use red diesel for most uses from April 2022, other than for defined agricultural purposes and a limited number of other uses. This will help to ensure fairness between the different users of diesel fuels and that the tax system incentivises the development and adoption of greener alternative technologies.
Agricultural vehicles will be entitled to run on rebated fuel after April 2022 for purposes relating to agriculture, horticulture, forestry and fish farming. They will also be able to use rebated fuel when cutting verges and hedges that border a road, clearing snow, gritting, and clearing or otherwise dealing with flooding.
The activities accepted as purposes relating to agriculture, horticulture and forestry are defined in HMRC Excise Notice 75. As agricultural shows and ploughing matches provide information and education that benefits agricultural purposes, the Government considers that running or participating in these activities are purposes relating to agriculture, for which rebated fuel may be used in qualifying vehicles and machines, and will be updating Excise Notice 75 accordingly. Rebated fuel can also be used to travel to and from where the vehicles or machines are to be used for these activities.c
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley Central)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential viability of changing the entitlement for farmers’ use of red diesel for a single day of ploughing competition.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Chancellor confirmed at Spring Budget 2021 that the Government will remove the entitlement to use red diesel for most uses from April 2022, other than for defined agricultural purposes and a limited number of other uses. This will help to ensure fairness between the different users of diesel fuels and that the tax system incentivises the development and adoption of greener alternative technologies.
Agricultural vehicles will be entitled to run on rebated fuel after April 2022 for purposes relating to agriculture, horticulture, forestry and fish farming. They will also be able to use rebated fuel when cutting verges and hedges that border a road, clearing snow, gritting, and clearing or otherwise dealing with flooding.
The activities accepted as purposes relating to agriculture, horticulture and forestry are defined in HMRC Excise Notice 75. As agricultural shows and ploughing matches provide information and education that benefits agricultural purposes, the Government considers that running or participating in these activities are purposes relating to agriculture, for which rebated fuel may be used in qualifying vehicles and machines, and will be updating Excise Notice 75 accordingly. Rebated fuel can also be used to travel to and from where the vehicles or machines are to be used for these activities.c
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley Central)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has made an assessment of the potential effect on consumer (a) rights and (b) choice of the introduction of the energy bills rebate.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
All domestic electricity customers in Great Britain will receive a £200 reduction in their electricity costs from this October. This will be delivered via energy suppliers and will be clearly identifiable as a line item on electricity bills.
The reduction in costs will help people with the increase in energy bills by spreading the increased costs over a few years, so they are more manageable for households.
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley Central)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of waiving VAT on defibrillators.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
The Government already maintains VAT reliefs to aid the purchase of Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs), including VAT relief on purchases made by local authorities and those made through voluntary contributions, where the AED is donated to eligible charities or the NHS. Otherwise, they attract the standard rate of VAT.
Any new VAT relief would come at a cost to the Exchequer and the Government has received over £50 billion worth of requests for relief from VAT since the EU referendum.
The Government keeps all taxes under review.